Magistrates are facing calls from unions to spend a night in an accident and emergency ward after a woman who seriously assaulted a healthcare worker received a £50 fine from the courts.

The violent attack on a department receptionist occurred at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn. The Department of Health recently demanded "zero tolerance" for assaults and abuse against health workers.

Forum Response: Unison

A spokesperson for Unison told ePolitix.com: "What chance do we stand as health service workers when you get a court decision like that? For all the good this sentence does, we may as well ask violent patients to come to reception, pay their £50 and set about assaulting staff. Decisions like this make you wonder if the courts really care what happens to us."